Arthritis Pain Management In Houston

Effective Arthritis Pain Relief

Arthritis is a joint disorder involving inflammation of one or more joints. The most common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis (RA). According to the Arthritis Foundation, approximately 1.3 million people in the United States have rheumatoid arthritis, and of those with RA, 75% are women. In this condition, a person’s immune system begins to react against its own tissues, causing significant inflammation in your joints and other organs. This can cause joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and limited mobility.

Rheumatoid arthritis pain may vary in severity, and symptoms can even come and go. During a flare-up generally brought on by stress, illness, or changes in the weather, a person may experience intense arthritis pain in their joints, followed by periods of relative remission — when the swelling and arthritis pain fade or disappear. Over time, rheumatoid arthritis can cause joints to deform and shift out of place, making it difficult to perform even the simplest activities. TIPI Pain Management in Houston treats the most comprehensive range of rheumatic conditions. Rheumatic disease takes on many different forms, and each type requires specialized treatment.

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Osteoarthritis: This is the second most common form of arthritis. OA is a degenerative joint disease. Over time, this inflammation causes wear and tear to the cartilage in your joints, causing pain and decreased mobility. The risk of developing OA increases with age and is more commonly seen in women over the age of 50. Symptoms of osteoarthritis can include:

• Joint stiffness that usually occurs in the morning for approximately half an hour

• Limited mobility due to joint changes with your back, hips, knees, or hands. Pain in using these joints may improve with rest.

• Swelling in or around the joints that may be centralized or widespread.

• In the later stages of osteoarthritis, pain may be worse in the evening.

Other Types of Arthritis: There are over one hundred forms of arthritis, including juvenile arthritis, gout, infectious arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, and Ankylosing Spondylitis. Dr. Brett Warfield understands that pain can debilitatingly impact a person’s life. For arthritis pain management in Houston, we take a multidisciplinary approach incorporating interventional techniques such as physical therapy, lifestyle changes (including exercise and weight control), nerve branch blocks, peripheral nerve stimulators, medications, and injections.

Are you at risk for arthritis?

Making lifestyle changes can decrease your risk of getting some types of arthritis or making arthritis worse. You may be unable to control factors such as genetics, age, or gender (arthritis pain is more common for women). Still, there are things you can do to decrease your risk of getting arthritis or minimizing arthritis pain and other symptoms, such as:

Stop Smoking: Those who use nicotine place themselves at a higher risk for lower back pain and rheumatoid arthritis. Smokers also struggle more with exercising or staying physically active, which is essential to managing arthritis.

Lose Weight: People who are overweight have a higher propensity for developing arthritis. Eating healthy, exercising, and losing just ten pounds can make an impact.

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Diagnosis Of Arthritis Pain

Doctors usually diagnose arthritis through a comprehensive exam that includes reviewing a patient’s medical history and a physical examination to rule out any other possible causes of your symptoms and diagnostic testing, including X-ray, MRI, or CT scan, to help diagnose your chronic pain. Once a patient is diagnosed, they often seek arthritis pain management. This is where TIPI Pain Management in Houston can help. Our focus is to help you manage your diseases, control chronic arthritis pain, minimize joint damage, and suggest healthy lifestyle changes that will help you maintain physical function and improve the quality of your life.

Cost Of Arthritis

Arthritis has begun to place a burden on the economic and healthcare systems as it accounts for more than 44 million doctor appointments and 900,000 annual hospitalizations. These results may be due to the fact that patients waited until later stages to get diagnosed and seek out treatment. Another cost contributor is the considerable increase in prescription medications. Since 2009 the cost of medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis has more than tripled.